From July onwards, Google will use mobile page speed as a ranking factor in their mobile search results...

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, the world of Digital Marketing is a fast-paced environment with changes and updates around every corner. Nowhere is this clearer than in July 2018… Not only did Google recently announce that more changes are on the horizon for how Google Chrome labels HTTPS and HTTP sites, but on the 9th July, the search engine giants also announced that page speed will finally become a ranking factor in mobile search! Now we’ve all known that page speed has been classed as a ranking factor since around 2010 but this is the first time ever that it will be used within their hugely anticipated mobile index.

I Feel The Need…The Need, for Speed!

According to recent studies, mobile devices account for around 60 percent of all searches made online. In addition to this, almost 30 percent of people are now using voice search to receive answers to queries faster. In today’s digital age, people want to be able to find answers to questions as quickly and as easily as possible. This is not new, however, as we’ve all visited a website which took too long to load and as a result we’ve quickly left, choosing to visit another site which fulfils our needs.

The “Google Speed Update”, as the industry is calling it, aims to enhance user experiences by marking page load speed as an official ranking factor for any searches carried out on mobile – encouraging developers, webmasters and digital marketing gurus around the world to focus more on improving the overall user experience for end-users.

What does this mean for your website?

If your site performs well for mobile page speed then it’s not a huge concern. Google has stated that the update will only affect the slowest mobile sites. It will also apply the same standard to all pages on a site, regardless of what technology has been used to create the page.

If you’re concerned about what this means for your site and current rankings, however, we’re offering free website audits to help identify areas for improvement relating to the speed and accessibility of a site. During the check, we’ll also assess the design, usability and optimisation of your site.

If you’d like to arrange a website health check or you’d like to find out more about SEO and how it could benefit your business online, drop us a line today – a member of our team will be more than happy to help!